Child Educational Center

Parents sending their kids here are just drinking the kool-​aid these progressive schools are selling for people who think they are on the forefront of education and development. Spend over 2k a month to have your child do whatever he/​she wants, with no direction or order, be disgustingly dirty, clothing optional to name a few instant observations. If you want this, just send your kid to your backyard and let them do whatever they want for free! This is coming from two parents with doctorate degrees from some of the best schools so we understand the importance of early development.

I attended CEC from age 2 until kindergarten (plus summers until I was about 7) and my parents and I have nothing but happy memories! I’m now in my 30s and have come to fully appreciate my experience. The CEC’s emphasis on outdoor play and hands-​on learning (arts and crafts, music, building blocks, cooking, etc.) is so rare. My mom still has the cook book!
As an only child, I would have had a very lonely childhood if not for the CEC. In fact, one of my preschool classmates was a bridesmaid in my wedding a couple years ago. When I have children, I hope to send them to CEC. #flyingsquirrelsforever

As a mother who had all 4 of her children attend the CEC it’s interesting to read all the reviews. I honestly feel blessed that my children were able to experience this center. My children are independent and well rounded, and I believe the CEC had something to do with that. My children learned how to communicate and work through their problems without an adult stepping in and taking over the situation. My children got to be children which to me is what children should be doing. I was glad they were allowed to take their shoes off, get wet and muddy, and be able to come up with an idea and have a teacher be able to turn that idea in to a learning experience not just for them, but any other child interested. This program I believe is for those wanting to have their children experience the wonderment of being just that a child. The minute they leave the CEC they will have plenty of time for all the mandatory demands the world will have waiting for them. So if you want to give your child the ability to explore and find new ways of learning opposed to the teacher directed, keep your shoes on, and do what they are told when they are told environment this is the place for your children to grow into independent and very capable children.

I went in for a tour and as we were sitting and talking one of the teachers kicked off her shoes and left them by toy area. A child ~2 years old picked up her very dirty shoe and put it in his mouth! The lady that was giving us the tour then blamed the child instead of the teacher for leaving her shoes and not watching him!!!
I turned to my husband and said «oh hell no» and got up and left. I wouldn’t let my kid go to the CEC. Although I understand the philosophy of letting children make choices they take it too far at the CEC allowing children to compromise their safety.

My daughter attended CEC for two years. The things we really liked: The outdoor space is incomparable. We wanted our child to have the opportunity to explore the outdoors and this place had a more extensive space than anywhere we’ve seen. Climbing structure, wooden playhouse, swings, slides, gardening areas, outdoor painting stations, blocks, large sandboxes (teachers dig trenches and make mud pits), tables for reading and coloring outside, plenty of space to run. The kids are encouraged to go outside — even if it’s raining, if the kids want to go outside, the teachers take them. The preschool kids eat outside and explore insects. They could go inside and outside as they pleased. I also liked the sheer breadth of activities offered to the kids. In each classroom, there are instruments, multiple activities that develop small motor skills, etc. There are books, blocks, dramatic play areas, tons of stuff to do. It’s child led, and the teachers track and adjust their rooms based on what the kids are interested in. I also really appreciated how welcome I, as a parent, always was in the yard and in the classroom. I could stay as long as I wanted/​needed during drop offs. If I wanted to come and have lunch with my daughter, that was fine, I could just come on by — no appointment or notification needed. I thought the teachers were great about sharing anecdotes about my child’s day. I always found the caregivers warm and friendly.
What I didn’t like is that in the two years she attended, I can’t pinpoint one thing she learned there. I think there are a lot of kids that would actually benefit from a little more structure than they provide. I absolutely appreciate that allowing kids to explore what they’re interested in lets them learn in a deeper, more organic way but sometimes the independence granted to the toddlers/​preschoolers translated into chaos. There were plenty of kids that I saw acting out of line on a regular basis. Sometimes it was violent, sometimes it was verbal and sometimes it was just blatant disregard for the teachers’ instruction. I know this might be normal for kids this age but I will say that it certainly seemed like like it happened more frequently here than other schools I have seen — I would have liked to see more control on the part of the teachers. There seems to be a lot of turnover with the floaters; there was always someone new in the yard. Lastly, we didn’t have a great experience with the teacher/​parent conferences. I can’t remember ever hearing anything of substance. Twice it seemed like the teacher who met with us wasn’t prepared at all. Basically she was meeting with us because she had to.
Neutral information — it’s messy here. Kids get muddy and colored from paint. I don’t see this as a good or a bad thing, just a thing that is a reality here. Kids can walk around in their underwear or diaper. Again, good and bad. Your kids will come home with a ton of sand in their shoes and in their toes. Parents are required to volunteer a number of hours each year.

I visited this school to do an observation and I had hopes of possibly working there one day. Well, that observation completely changed my mind. Walking into the Child Educational Center I was greeted with scowls and there was no sense of warmth or welcome. I witnessed the children running wild with no discipline what so ever. It was blatantly obvious that no discipline is taught here and children show no respect for others or their teachers. I witnessed children biting, hitting, and yelling at one another and the teachers did little to nothing about it. The teachers were rude and stuck up, not inviting me into their environment to learn, honestly I couldn’t wait to get out of there. The teachers seemed to play favorites with the children and with each other, it felt like a high school setting with «teacher» cliques. What I witnessed that day was startling and I don’t know how parents even begin to consider sending their child here. Think twice before you consider this place and if you do send your child here, be heavily involved and KNOW what happens when you drop your child off and leave, be informed of everything. Never will I return to this place and I will be sure to notify all my friends and family to avoid this place at all costs. Be warned.

Play-​based pre-​school was what we were looking for. Also it is close to JPL since my husband and I both work there. It was fine at the beginning until I found a bite mark on my boy’s face. He was under 1 ½ years old, and he got bit by another baby during nap time. The bite was deep and almost bleeding. Obviously, there was no supervision around during nap time. It took him more than a month to heal. After I shared this story with my friends at work, I realized that not everybody likes this place. I remember after the bite incident, the director told me that she knew it is hard for a mother to see this happening, but she did not say anything that they did wrong. I was very disappointed about their reactions. Up to today, I am still regretting not reporting this incident. Because without supervision even during nap time, serious injuries can still happen when kids wake up and the situation could definitely be worse than just a bite on the face. Here is our advice to all the parents who read our review, when you feel like your school missed anything or did something wrong, do not hesitate to speak up. Take a stand! As parents, we are our children’s advocates. It could not only help your own children but also other’s. Let’s help each other and make sure our kids live in a happy and safe environment. We really hope the CEC has read our review and makes a significant improvement on this issue!

My children take part in the CEC after-​school program at La Canada Elementary. I have nothing but praise for the program. The people supervising the children are, across the board, the exact kind of people you want interacting with your children. They are kind, educated, and motivated people who take interest in the kids. Every time I have come to get them and have happened upon a conversation or interaction with staff, I am pleased with their attitude and demeanor. Even when they don’t see a parent coming, which are the most telling moments, they speak to the children with respect. I am 100% confident that my children are being respected and nurtured at CEC. Also, if I forget to call and tell the staff that my child is home sick, they always call and check to be sure he/​she is accounted for at home when the child doesn’t arrive at CEC as expected. I love that!

As an elementary educator with advanced degrees in child development, I had a clear picture of what I expected and was looking for in a preschool for my son. We researched and visited countless preschools in the area looking for the best early education experience we could afford knowing full well how a quality early education curriculum impacts life long development and later school success. It is always clear the children who had these experiences from those who did not by their command of oral expression and exposure to dealing with peers. As a teacher, I would much rather have a student who has been encouraged to problem solve and think critically over a child that has practiced hooked on phonic worksheets with perfect penmanship. The first must be developed while the later is much easier to teach.
That being said, we decided upon the CEC and were very excited. Then I read the negative Unilocal review here and panicked the night before his first day. My son is a sensitive little boy, this was his first experience away from home and I was worried he would feel lost in their large beautiful yard. I also know as a teacher that it is important to provide young children opportunities with guidance, not forced problem solving, to figure out how to remedy their peer relationships but this was my son and I would rather avoid the negative peer interactions I see too much of in elementary school.
However, I have observed that the most successful children are not the ones that come to the teacher all the time to solve their problems but voice their frustrations in the moment and have a set of skills set in place to solve it themselves. These children have internalized self worth, negotiation skills, and resiliency.
I see evidence of this everywhere I look at the CEC. I see children using complicated expressions and rich oral language modeled by highly educated teachers. The teachers talk to child the way we all should. A good teacher does not really teach but provides the tools for the journey so the child can discover for themselves. This is what I see each and every day I pick up my son.
I get giddy and amazed when I walk on campus. I see shared inquiry, Blooms Taxonomy, graphing, story-​telling, and problem solving. I see children wear the hat of a gardener, athlete, engineer, dancer, artist, creator, scientist, architect, chef, writer, and naturalist. They study and explore the rich environment that the CEC lays before them. Many days, I can see that my son is covered in learning from head to toe. They have sparked his fire for learning in school.
I am not worried about my son being able to read at 3 and 4, but to inspire children to think, create, and facilitate their own learning; that is priceless. My sensitive son loves the CEC even on days when he has had to problem solve those pesky peer relationships. And, I don’t just adore my son’s teachers but deeply respect them. If you go to observe their exemparly learning environment, just stop, look and listen for a while. There are no worksheets, no dotted lines to trace, and no Basal Readers floating around. And don’t be deceived and think you are just seeing play. There is so much more going on here, the evidence is everywhere. It is type of magic. The teachers and staff of the CEC create this magic from purposeful and strategic pedagogy. This is not a daycare, these are quality educators. When we pick up my son now, my husband and I like to sit and observe for a while and listen to all the amazing learning going on. The education experience the CEC provides really is something special.

Although many, many parents and children love this school, it is not the perfect fit for every child. My daughter was lost in this huge environment. She started attending when she was a year old and was bitten every other time she was there until we called for an appointment with the director who apologized and said that they should have been shadowing the biter. Unfortunately we left her in this school. She enjoyed it mostly until she started being picked on by other girls when she was two. For six months she would sob herself to sleep, crying about the girls and asking why they were mean to her. The teachers told me her reaction was exaggerated and that the drama between the girls was normal. They insisted that everything was fine. After six months I couldn’t take it any more and pulled her out. I put her in a very structured morning preschool for two days a week where the teachers worked directly with the children to develop respect for others. No mean-​spirited behavior was tolerated. She thrived in this loving environment with ten children and two teachers. She began going to sleep happy at night. My second child did not go to the CEC and is in another very small preschool with enough structure to encourage healthy, positive relationships, but it also has all of the elements of the CEC, just smaller in scale. A friend had warned me about the CEC, but I listened to all of the people who loved it instead and regret this. Don’t choose the CEC based on its reputation alone. Consider what kind of child you have.
If you child is hearty and stalwart, he or she might love the CEC as so many do. But if your chlid has a sensitive heart, beware.
P. S. I’ve had so many responses to this review that I wanted to add a few things. The preschool I put my daughter in after the CEC was a specialized language immersion preschool, and the very amazing teacher who taught there has moved on, so I would not necessarily recommend that program anymore. But the lesson there is to not only choose the right preschool but also a teacher who works well with and cares about your child. For some teachers, it is just a job. For others, it is a passion. I put my second child in the La Canada United Methodist Children’s Center. He loved it there! We found that the pastor was lovely and always gave a gentle message of kindness and love during chapel several times a month. And the teachers were kind and loving. The school is small enough that it was not overly stimulating or chaotic. He loved it so much I had to wait for the teachers to lock up at night before I could get him to leave! For anyone who is turned off by the religious aspect of it, please don’t discount the school outright. Interview the pastor and the teachers. Visit during chapel time so you get an idea of what is being presented. And good luck! Keep looking till you find the right situation for yourself and your family.

The CEC is more than just a child care, it is about early childhood education starting from infants through pre-​k. The philosophy and curriculum are VERY engaging. It is a place where children are treated with respect and love. I have had two children go through this program with great enthusium. Moveover, they were both well prepared for kindergarten — academically, socially and emotionally.
The highlight is the outdoor space! There is a seemlessness of the indoor and outdoor classroom learning.
I can’t say enough wonderful things about it. If you want to see for yourself, set up a tour to check it out.

I have done several observations at this preschool and have never been unhappy to see how it is and how it operates. The teachers are very attentive and up to par your children will truly learn here and be well cared for. I also had a nanny charge that went here and everyday it was a new discovery she bought home

The CEC is a daycare/​preschool for infants to preK kids. If you are lucky enough to get your child in here, you should count your blessings. The staff is exceptional and they CARE about your child. We’ve had 2 kids at the CEC and know plenty of other families that have done the same over the last 20 years. The don’t skimp on staff — there are plenty of teachers even for the older kids. It’s a play based learning environment with a very large outdoor area that is freely accessable by the kids during the day. The web site is
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